Present and future high capacity printing and reprographic systems support high volume document production for commercial and printing center operations, with a wide range of input and finishing configurations. Further, operators are provided with many job programming options and selections in order to maintain an efficient usage of these printing systems.
In view of the complexity of these high capacity printing systems, and the user interfaces provided for their operation and control, it is to be expected that fault conditions will occur in supply unit devices and output unit devices. High capacity printing and reprographic systems exist which provide a graphical user interface that informs an operator of these faults as they occur and provides instructive information in fault screen windows providing the operator with the information necessary to know what the fault condition is and also how to correct the fault condition. For example, a typical high capacity reprographic system, upon determining the presence of a fault, will open a window on a user interface screen with a text message indicating the source of the fault. The system may optionally display a bit mapped graphic image of the section of the machine in need of attention. The image may, for example, show a picture of a drawer that must be pulled out to replenish a paper supply.
While a bit mapped image may be sufficient for simple faults such as an out-of-paper condition, it may not be adequate for more complicated faults such as a paper jam in the transport mechanism of a reprographic system. Clearing such a fault may require multiple steps such as: opening a door, turning a lever clockwise, pulling out a mechanism, lifting a cover, etc. Such a sequence of steps is difficult for an operator to follow even when multiple images are provided to illustrate each step because the images do not convey information about the movements required to accomplish the task. Arrows may be provided to convey this information, however, this requires the operator to examine each image and text message carefully to understand the necessary movements.
Therefore, there is a need for a system and method by which an operator of a high capacity printing or reprographic system can be given instructions that are easily and readily interpreted for clearing fault conditions. Further, it would be advantageous if these instructions can be presented in a manner that allows the operator to preview the complete procedure, or portions of the procedure, to become familiar with the steps involved before performing the procedure. Still further, it would be advantageous if instructions could be presented simultaneously in video and text formats wherein the text and video are synchronized with each other.